Care
by Fizzy Starburst
Summary: When Chuck crosses a line in his flirtations with Trish, an unlikely friend takes matters into their own hands. Trez. Rated T because of one F bomb getting dropped. One shot.


She was biting her lip so hard it was starting to turn white. Austin's fingers gripped his knees, his teeth grinding together so hard he thought he might chip one of his lower teeth. Ally was visibly trembling, eyes darting around for any source of salvation – any distraction she could find – as she wondered why they couldn't just eat their lunch in peace. Leaning in even closer over the Latina's shoulder – though the three Team Austin members thought that to be impossible, the teenage boy continued; "Come on Trish. You know you want to."

"For the last time Chuck I will not go out with you." Trish growled aggressively.

Chuck simply smirked "I like a girl who plays hard to get."

"Leave her _alone_, Chuck." Austin shot, for what felt like the 15th time that day alone.

The cowboy clad teenager opened his mouth to respond, but thankfully the fourth period bell rang. "I'll see you after math class, Trishita Bonita." He whispered in the girl's ear, causing her to shudder.

Waiting for the boy to move far enough away, the group of three stood up. "He's lucky I don't punch him in the throat." Trish grumbled as she picked up her bag.

"I'm really sorry that there's not more we can do about it." Austin told his friend honestly.

Ally nodded, adding, "I just wish there was a way to get him off your back."

Trish sighed, shaking her head. "So do I, but I don't see that happening any time soon."

The conversation topic almost immediately changed when a familiar redhead ran up to the group "Hey guys!"

"Dez! How did the appointment go?" Austin asked his best friend.

Dez beamed, in his usual way. "Great! I can proudly say that I'm cavity free! So, what did I miss?"

"Chuck being an asshole again." Trish grumbled, clearly still annoyed by the whole ordeal.

The redhead's blue eyes widened in concern. "What did he do?"

"He kept asking Trish out and he wouldn't take no for an answer." Ally supplied.

"What a tool." Dez replied, pouting.

* * *

An hour later, Austin and Ally walked out of their music class, heading to the only class all four members of Team Austin had together, which was Biology. Meeting up with Trish, who had just gotten out of English, Ally noticed something a little out of the ordinary. Dez was nowhere to be found. "Guys, guys, where's Dez? He already came back from the dentist!"

Austin opened his mouth to respond when they heard a loud bang coming from across the hall. Naturally, the teens made their way over to where the commotion was coming from. To all of their surprise, there was a dent just above Chuck's head and Dez was towering over him, his hands clenched into fists, one red and swollen. "You stay the fuck away from her." He growled, going to punch him again. The three friends just stood, frozen. This was a side of Dez they'd never seen.

This time, Dez's fist did make contact. "No means no, so _leave her alone_!" he threatened, absolutely seething.

"DEZ!" Ally was finally able to call, getting over her initial shock. Meanwhile, Austin and Trish were still unable to process the situation.

The redhead turned to face his friends, his face matching his hair in color do to embarrassment. He blinked rapidly, trying to put his thoughts together. Needless to say, Chuck to the opportunity to run. "I…wow…I can't believe….I'm sorry." He finally decided.

"What came over you, man?" Austin asked, though his voice easily portrayed his state of disbelief.

Now looking down at his feet, Dez replied. "All through class, I kept picturing what you guys told me about Chuck…how he was treating Trish…and I didn't like it. And it just kept eating me up…."

"Awwww….." Ally cooed, moving to gently rub Dez's arm. "You're such a good friend."

"Come on guys, let's head to class." Austin suggested. All three of them nodded, Trish still having not said anything.

* * *

It was 11 PM. Normally, Trish would have just been getting ready for bed, but tonight, she had already been lying in bed for a half hour, though sleep was eluding her. There was only one thing on her mind…and she would never get it off her mind until she acted on it. Groaning and rolling over, she reached onto her bedside table and grabbed her phone. She quickly found him in her contacts and sent a text reading "Why?"

The next three minutes felt like hours until her screen lit up with "He wasn't going to stop."

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me."

The Latina jumped a little at the buzzing that her phone was now making, indicating that Dez was calling her. "What?"

"A hello would be nice." The voice on the other end replied. Trish could almost see the redhead rolling his eyes as he spoke.

"It's 11 PM Dez, my families asleep! What was so important that you needed to call me?"

"I know that I shouldn't have done it." He replied, almost immediately, making Trish more than a little confused. "It just made me so mad, the idea of you that upset."

Trish was instantly silent. Suddenly, she understood the cliché she heard girls like Ally use all the time about how it felt like their heart was melting. Of all the people in the world, Dez was the one to make her feel like that. "Dez…"she started quietly, unsure of what she was going to say. He didn't do this to be a hero for women everywhere, or to put his rival in his place, he was upset because she was upset. Not even her ex-boyfriends had ever said anything like that.

She was even more surprised when he very quietly replied "I'm not sorry." He sounded almost like a child being found guilty of something they had claimed to be innocent for. "I mean, I'm sorry you're upset, but I'm not sorry I hit him. He deserved it."

Cracking a small smile, Trish replied "Okay, yeah. I guess he had it coming."

Both ends were silent for a moment, before Dez asked "Hey Trish?"

"Yeah?"

"I really care about you. And I know we act like we hate each other, but you know that, right?"

The Latina almost had the bite her lip to stop the giggles currently threatening to escape. "Really? Because I thought you punched Chuck because you can't stand me." She replied sarcastically, but a jovial sarcastic, there was no mal intent in her voice.

Dez chuckled, and Trish could swear she saw him flip in bangs they way he did. "You know that I like you though, right? Because I know you like me, even if you don't show it all the time…or ever."

"Yeah yeah Freckles. You've got my back when I need you." She replied smiling. The conversation was surprisingly easy, like most conversations she'd had with Dez just one on one recently. Everything just came naturally and everything was good natured. "I should probably hang up and go to bed. But thanks for everything."

"No problem, and if you ever need someone to punch Chuck…"

Trish laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder "I know where to find you."


End file.
